West Windsor is considering submitting a proposal to New Jersey Transit that would designate the West Windsor Parking Authority as the developer of a new parking garage at the train station. The move would allow the township to have a higher level of control over the project.
“This is to try to push them (NJT) into a partnership with us,” township redevelopment attorney Ed McManimon explained to the Township Council on March 15. If successful, the move would be an “avenue into the next stage of development.”
A vote on submitting the proposal is set for Monday, March 22. Although developing the projected 2,200-space garage would give the township a greater ability to oversee the project, West Windsor cannot reserve any parking spaces specifically for township residents in the garage.
The resolution was originally discussed on March 15, but only three council members attended the meeting. Council Vice President Linda Geevers, acting as president in place of George Borek, said it would be better to delay the vote until more members were present. She said it would also give council a week to digest the information presented by McManimon.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, however, urged the council to take action quickly. “The council wanted the township to designate the parking authority as the redeveloper for parking garage-related issues and construction,” he said, referring to discussions that took place last year by council after the redevelopment plan was adopted. “This is exactly the step we are taking right now.”
State law allows the parking authority to, as a developer, work with NJT under the guidelines of the township. Hsueh explained that the parking authority would serve as contractors in dealing with the parking issues in the redevelopment area.
The resolution states that the township and parking authority believe they can undertake the development of the project by “constructing, operating, and maintaining it in a significantly more financially advantageous manner than any private proposal.”
Further, it states that if the joint proposal is accepted by NJT, “the Parking Authority, acting as the agent of the township, will take responsibility for identifying a developer for the Transit Parking Project, negotiating the terms of a contract for the development of the Transit Parking Project, and submitting such development contract to the township for approval and designation by the township.”
The resolution also states that the township would be responsible for half of the costs of the redevelopment attorney fees, with the parking authority paying the other half.
However, McManimon stressed that the new parking garage will pay for itself through the new rates charged to users who will pay to park in the facility. According to estimates provided by Parking Authority consultant Tom Calu, a parking garage of around 2,000 parking spaces would cost no more than $18,000 a space — excluding engineering, architect, and professional costs.
“The bonding will be done by the Parking Authority and will be paid for by the people who use that facility,” said McManimon, adding that the township would be guaranteeing the bonding done by the Parking Authority.
Geevers called for all the attorney’s fees to be paid by the parking authority as well. “I would like to have the parking authority pay 100 percent,” she said, citing cuts in funding in all areas of the upcoming 2010 municipal budget, amid a tough economic climate. Geevers asked Calu, who also spoke at the meeting, to ask the parking authority about the possibility.
McManimon, referring to his previous discussion with council months ago, said it was difficult to develop the sites within the core area of the 350-acre Princeton Junction train station redevelopment area, particularly because the township did not allow for eminent domain in its adopted redevelopment plan.
“New Jersey Transit, as a publicly body, has control over a large segment of that site,” he said. McManimon added that he and other township representatives, and Calu have been able to discuss and meet with NJT. He said NJT has been very cooperative in adjusting its thinking to account for West Windsor’s concerns for the site.
NJT officials told township representatives that they were looking at developing a structured parking facility in the neighborhood of 2,200-parking spaces. He said township officials encouraged NJT to include the retail space in the design. “It’s important to the township to have retail space,” McManimon said. “They have done that.”
“I think that they believe that how this facility will ultimately be built, it will be the entrance into the next phase and whatever comes further with regard to that site,” McManinom said. “There is significant advantage to having the parking authority and township work together to develop this site.”
Still, when NJT officials indicated they would be soliciting quotes for the development of the parking facility and retail space, the township attempted to ask for a delay so that it would submit a quote to them and sit down and work out the details.
West Windsor believes that particularly with the experience that the parking authority has in running its current space at the train station, it has the expertise to take on the project, McManimon said. However, “they advised us respectfully that they felt they needed to seek proposals, and that they were largely seeking proposals among private companies,” similar to the Nexus firm that recently built a structure at the Hamilton station.
However, NJT said it would entertain public proposals, but not exclusively from a public entity. Township and parking authority officials discussed the issue further, McManimon said. “We believe a preemptive strategy would keep the best control of this area,” he said.
Advantages to submitting the proposal include that, if accepted by NJ Transit, it would give direct control to the public through the Parking Authority and the township, including control over issues affecting traffic flow as well as the future development of the site. McManimon said.
A private firm, McManimon said, does not have a vested interest in the retail on site. Under the proposal, however, the township could have control over the policy and management of the site, and the public would have control over the operations of the entire facility.
“There will probably be spaces developed in the interim while building the parking garage,” said McManimon. “The Parking Authority has the ability to provide that.”
The venture also comes with significant financial advantages. The debt accrued by the project will come at a much higher cost if not taken on by the township, which can use its AAA bond rating to get low rates, McManimon said. And, the public can share in the profits generated by the facility. There will also be no sales tax on the parking spaces if the facility is publicly-owned and operated, while the sales tax would be in effect if the facility is privately-owned.
Still, McManimon said, the resolution is not a contract. That will come later, along with the financing details, he said. This resolution simply is the beginning of the process, which allows the township and parking authority to put together a proposal and negotiate with NJT.
The township has redevelopment powers, while the parking authority does not. But redevelopment law allows the township to contract with a public body to undertake projects that it has a legal authority over. West Windsor will work with the the parking authority, which will be able to contract out the work for building the parking garage.
Financially, the parking authority has significant revenues that it generates on its own and is sharing in the financial burden by paying for its financial advisers, its consultant, and its engineering and architectural firms to work on the project.
Calu described what could occur in the absence of an agreement with New Jersey Transit — if the council decided not to approve submittal of the proposal or if the proposal is rejected by NJT. First, the township would have no control over the functionality of the site. It would also lose the opportunity to get into finite details of the kiss-and-ride area, for example.
He also warned that there would be no guarantees that the project wouldn’t “turn into a Metropark.” The township could also lose control over the size of the retail mix, as well as control over the types of tenants the retail area will hold.
The township could also lose control over the rules that apply to the retail space, including the hours of operation, he added. And it would not have ongoing control over continuing parking operations and “parking behaviors” at the train station, including traffic.
“You would simply be the community that is hosting it,” Calu said.
Financially, the township could miss out on the opportunity to participate in the positive cash flow generated by the facility. The sales tax would apply, and the interest rates would be higher.
“The members of the general public and residents would pay more for that parking, but you’d see none of that cash flow,” Calu said.
As for risks associated with approving the venture, Calu cited future projections for needed parking at the train station. Prior projections for 2015 indicated there would be a need for 900 more parking spaces at the train station. As of October, 2009, however, projections through 2017 show a need for 1,100 spaces there.
Projections show that the new parking garage would yield a net increase of 1,360 spaces. This is because the parking garage’s footprint would be built on top of existing surface parking.
Still, “my review of that site plan, which is a conceptual drawing, doesn’t convince me it would yield 1,360 spaces,” Calu said. “I think it would not make sense to build the project if it would not be yielding at least 1,000 spaces.”
Councilwoman Diane Ciccone questioned how many of the spaces in the new garage could be reserved for West Windsor residents. Ultimately, McManimon said the township is not permitted to restrict any parking spaces to West Windsor residents and that the new parking must be available for everyone.
However, officials said that projections show 60 percent of the new users of the parking facility will be West Windsor residents.
In addition, Hsueh said that the township is in the process of remediating the township-owned compost station site on Alexander Road, where new surface parking will be created. Officials will use that surface lot as temporary parking for those displaced by the construction of the parking garage, he said.
But once the garage is built, there will be 400 to 500 spaces that will be restricted to West Windsor residents in addition to the Vaughn Drive and Wallace Road lots.
Hsueh said he wanted to see the process move forward. “Right now, we already worked out a concept with NJT,” he said. “When they are ready to go, the public will have an opportunity to look at what they want to do. They have incorporated our ideas into their RFP,” even though they were not required to do so.
“At the present time, all we are doing is making sure we have some type of proposal sent to NJT,” Hsueh added. “At the same time, this will allow the town to sit down with NJT to start talking about what we will be able to do, what we can do together.”
If the proposal is accepted by NJT, officials will still have to come back to council for final approval, Hsueh explained.
